Fluctuations in your level of interest for different series?

[Trekwatcher]

I have noticed that, with the exception of TOS (which always holds my interest to a high degree) my interest in several of the series has fluctuated with time, and was wondering if others have had the same experience.

I.e. when TNG was on I was a rabid fan, and watched them over and over on VHS and in reruns, but now I feel like I have seen them almost to the point of exhaustion and never watch TNG at all anymore.

Conversely, when ENT first aired, it did not really grab me much except for S3 (the Xindi arc). This past year I rewatched all of ENT and really, really enjoyed it much more than I had the first time and now consider myself to be a HUGE Ent fan.

Do others have similar experiences or do your tastes tend to hold steady over time?

 

[startrekwatcher]

Do others have similar experiences or do your tastes tend to hold steady over time?

My opinions on episodes for TOS/TNG/DS9 pretty much stay the same as when I first saw an episode. There are some exceptions but usually if I enjoyed a show or hated it I still do.

I have found that in the years since VOY/ENT went off the air that I don't find them as objectionable as I did initially. I suppose nostalgia for those years in my life when VOY/ENT were on and going into the series with adjusted expectations with knowing what I'm getting has tempered my attitude. I still had the issues I did before but some episodes aren't as bad as I recall.

 

[Geck]

My interest level in TOS has steadily increased as I've grown up just because I can appreciate it now in ways I did not when I was a kid.

DS9 was always my favourite series, with TNG second. Now though, I'd generally rather watch a TNG ep...perhaps just because of the different natures of the series, with DS9 being somewhat more serialised, especially in its later seasons. TNG is more approachable for a casual viewing.

VOY I regard the same as I always did: it's fine if I'm in the mood to shut off my brain and watch mindless entertainment for an hour. I still watch it now and then because there are a bunch of episodes I still haven't seen.

ENT I'm appreciating a bit more now. I never got into it while it was on the air...I watched the first 5-6 eps of season one, and then only saw a handful more through the next 3 1/2 years. I've seen more now in reruns and have enjoyed it more than I expected, though it's probably still my least favourite of the series.

 

[greenmystik]

I actually can say that my interests haven't fluctuated at all. TNG is still my favorite followed by DS9, TOS, ENT, and finally VOY.

Actually my interest is a bit higher right now because the only one that is still on in my area is VOY. [groans] I'm starving for more trek right now.

 

[SeerSGB]

Definitely find my interest cycling in regards to particular series or seasons.

I still love to watch TOS, but would rather watch the movies. Still love TNG, but really can't stand the earlier seasons (pre BoBw) for the most part. Still watch DS9 and still think it is the still the more "TOSish" style of series, but really not interested in it as much as I once was. Need to get Voyager and Enterprise on DVD, but frankly don't feel any real push to get them-- can't recall the last time I watched an episode of either.

 

[erastus25]

My interest in TOS has waned a little bit in that I no longer watch it every day.

TNG has stayed about the same. When DS9 first started I didn't care too much about it, but it slowly became more and more interesting for me until it was must see TV. Voyager started out really interesting, by the fifth season I wasn't even watching it anymore, but last year when it was repeating on Spike I watched it in its entirety. I think once my expectations had changed I was more interested in seeing it. I saw Broken Bow, thought it sucked and never watched Enterprise again. I'd be willing to try it, I guess.

 

[HIj'Qa]

I've been a TOS fan since chidhood and have never waned. I watched and taped TNG when it was first on, out of love of Trek. By season 3 the bland 80s PCness of TNG had turned me off the show. I taped it for about two years [Trek completest] but hardly ever watched an episode! Then something, probably a Worf episode, caught me, and I started watching the last seasons, and going back and watching what I'd taped.

I watched DS 9 and liked it from the start, but loved it after Worf came aboard. It is my second fav.

I watched Voyager out of loyalty to Trek.

Did I miss something, ummmmm . . . ummmm Oh

I taped ENT and got my vacuuming done at the same time!

as a fan fiction writer, though, TOS is done to death, TNG characters are still bland to me, DS 9 is pretty solidly written and it is difficult to squeeze in a story of my own, but ENT and pre-ENT has a lot of interest!

 

[Sector 7]

I grew up on the first rounds of TOS syndication... it is still my favorite.
Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I guess this is how & why I rank the series:
1- TOS- more reasons than I can count; opened up a whole new world & saved my life literally. I love the re-mastered episodes! Probably the only series I will buy on DVD.
2- TOS Movies- my favorites on the big screen!
3- First Contact- my only favorite post-TOS movie
4- TNG- upheld many of Gene's original ideals for the future
5- VOY, ENT- only current series on TV these days besides TOS... interest varies with the episodes
5- DS9- I know I'll be hated, but I never liked it... to soap-opera-ish for me... also they abandoned Gene's ideals for a positive future.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

Well, all TOS, TNG or DS9 I ever watched were re-runs. When the first DS9 season came out, I was nine, and it didn't really get me hooked. I was a sucker for TNG back then. When I moved to the US in 2004, they started showing DS9 re-runs on Spike, and then I totally fell in love with the series. Something similar happened in regard to VOY; I only started to appreciate it long after it went off the air, like three years ago- I was kind of going through a bad time and the series was a welcome escapism.

I watched all ENT episodes from the start. I was a rabid fan, really. Nowadays, I'm back to DS9 and only watch ENT every so often. I'm starting to see some of the show's flaws I didn't notice earlier, when the show was still on. It's not that I don't like it anymore, it's just not my favourite Trek series right now. But maybe that'll change again as time goes by, who knows.

 

[SFRabid]

TOS - Started high, then went low as I became intolerant of bad episodes, then went up again.

ENT - Started low but when up to high after I bought the series on DVD. Some of the bad episodes are not as bad as I first remembered, but like every ST series there are episodes I skip.

TNG - Started high and then went down. I don't bother watching reruns now. Bought the DVD set but have not bothered to watch.

DS9 - Started average and turned into my favorite. Hated the end and that brought it down a bit for me.

VOY - I tried and tried but I never could move up past the lower level of interest. The only series that I have not bought on DVD. The only series that my feelings have not changed about over time.

 

[Deckerd]

Virgin are repeating TNG from the beginning just now and it's so dated I can't watch it. I missed it when it first aired so only saw it for the first time in the early 90s. I really enjoyed it then but it has not lasted well.

 

[JoeZhang]

As the years go on, I'm starting to find the preachy lecture like tone that many episodes of modern trek take to very off-putting.


you must let them rape your dog, it's their way and we shouldn't judge them by our standards...

 

[erastus25]

As the years go on, I'm starting to find the preachy lecture like tone that many episodes of modern trek take to very off-putting.


you must let them rape your dog, it's their way and we shouldn't judge them by our standards...

Modern Trek? TOS had its fair share of preachy lecture moments too. And for added spice they threw in a fair amount of sexism!

 

[Cicero]

As the years go on, I'm starting to find the preachy lecture like tone that many episodes of modern trek take to very off-putting.


you must let them rape your dog, it's their way and we shouldn't judge them by our standards...

Modern Trek? TOS had its fair share of preachy lecture moments too. And for added spice they threw in a fair amount of sexism!

TNG was also sexist (off the top of my head, The Icarus Factor and The Offspring come to mind), and lacked on several occasions the element which made TOS speechmaking superior - a right argument. TNG too often supported that strange IDIC nonsense, and exhibited a very weird version of the Prime Directive ('but saving them from extinction would interfere with the natural course of their development').

 

[drasche]

TOS: increased over the years, second best to me.
TAS: I always liked them, there is so much of the original series behind.
TNG: increased a bit and my appreciation peaked when I watched the entire series on DVD, then decreased.
DS9: not interested at all at first sight on TV, but I bought the series on DVD when it was released and it quickly became my favorite.
VOY: I loved it on TV but as I watched it on DVD, I got a bit bored.
ENT: annoyed at first sight, more and more appalled as I watched the first run. Still I bought the DVD, and still appalled today. I'm should consider selling them but I wonder if I can stand the fact that I won't be able to say that I own them all

The movies: 2-4-8 have always been my favorites. TFF increased my interest recently, I don't think anymore it is that bad.

 

[HoundDog]

I have noticed that, with the exception of TOS (which always holds my interest to a high degree) my interest in several of the series has fluctuated with time, and was wondering if others have had the same experience.

Definitely. Right now, I'm going through an ENT-phase (currently rewatching season 4 on DVD).

And when I'm trough with it, I feel a TNG-phase coming up. I haven't watched it for quite some time except for rewatching the movies last year.

Seriously - although it might sound a little sick - from time to time I feel like "missing" the characters from one of the shows and then I start watching it again. It's a little like revisiting old friends.

 

[ktanner3]

I have noticed that, with the exception of TOS (which always holds my interest to a high degree) my interest in several of the series has fluctuated with time, and was wondering if others have had the same experience.

I.e. when TNG was on I was a rabid fan, and watched them over and over on VHS and in reruns, but now I feel like I have seen them almost to the point of exhaustion and never watch TNG at all anymore.

Conversely, when ENT first aired, it did not really grab me much except for S3 (the Xindi arc). This past year I rewatched all of ENT and really, really enjoyed it much more than I had the first time and now consider myself to be a HUGE Ent fan.

Do others have similar experiences or do your tastes tend to hold steady over time?

DS9. I HATED that show when it first came out. Didn't understand it, couldn't figure out what the big deal was. Then after TNG had released all their box sets on DVD I decided to bite the bullet and give season 1 of DS9 a try. I've been hooked from then on. Now I consider it my favorite show while I can hardly stand to watch TNG anymore. It just seems so sanitized and safe now.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I love TOS, TAS, TNG and DS9. I couldn't stand VOY when it came out, can't stand it still. ENT has increased in value, a bit, but not enough to warrant me to buy it, for instance.

TOS was my first show, the TOS movies my first exposure to Trek in general, TNG is sentimental favorite, and DS9 is the only one I watched regularly (and by regularly I mean everyday) while it was on TV - the only Trek I've ever seen in TV.

DS9 is my favorite nowadays, but TOS is the better show when you don't want to be concerned with big story arcs or long-term plots. TNG is more "peaceful' than either show, but I think all three shows are rather good.

 

[doubleohfive]

Eh. I find I appreciate TOS more as I grow older. TNG, DS9, and Enterprise still hold a fond place in my mind and Voyager sucks just as much now as it did when it was on originally.

 

[SeerSGB]

~puts on flak jacket before saying this~

I've found that my level of interest in a given series (any series, not just 'Trek) is directly proportional to the level of contact I have with the its fans. The more contact I have with a dedicated rabid fanbase that nitpicks and demonizes anything that is not flowing glowing gushes of praise for their favorite series-- or in some cases isn't the continual damnation of a given series, the less I'm inclined to maintain either prolonged or high interest in said series.

Sometimes we, as fans, can be our own worse enemies, in terms of helping our fave shows survive/thrive.